Sonarr Prefer X265 — Premium

The hum of the server rack was the only heartbeat in Elias’s apartment. To anyone else, it was background noise, but to him, it was the sound of a perfectly curated digital library breathing.

  1. Go to Settings → Release Profiles.
  2. Click + to add a new profile.
  3. In the Must Contain box, type: x265, HEVC
  4. Warning: This will make Sonarr ignore all x264 releases. Use this only for a secondary "Archive" profile, not your main daily profile.
"name": "x265 or HEVC", "implementation": "ReleaseTitleSpecification", "negate": false, "required": false, "fields": h)\\.?265\\b , 

  "name": "✅ x265 / HEVC (Prefer)",
  "includeCustomFormatWhenRenaming": false,
  "specifications": [

    

  • Release Profile: Prefer x265

    The most effective way to tell Sonarr what you want is through Custom Formats. This allows you to "score" specific terms found in release titles. Navigate to Settings > Custom Formats. Click the + icon to create a new format. Name: Call it "x265 HEVC". Specifications: Add a new specification. Select Release Title as the type. In the Regular Expression field, enter: (?i)x265|HEVC. Save the format. Step 2: Configure Your Quality Profile sonarr prefer x265
    

    is the single most effective way to cut your storage usage in half without sacrificing visual quality. The hum of the server rack was the
    

      

    • Required words: x265 OR HEVC
      • 

    • Release score: +100 (or a large positive)
      • 

    • Apply to: All series or specific tags/series
      • 

    • Optional: Add additional required words combinations (e.g., HEVC AND (10bit OR 10-bit)) for specialized boosts like 10-bit.
      • 

    

    Part 4: Real-World Scenarios & Examples
    

    Let’s review how Sonarr behaves with a score of +5 for x265. Go to  Settings  →  Release Profiles